A1

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the A1 North of Tyne and Wear.

Stephen Hammond: I refer the right hon. Member to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), oral statement to the House today in relation to Government's future capital expenditure for roads.

Motorways: Driving Offences

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of accidents that will potentially be prevented as a result of the introduction of new penalty notices for misuse of the middle lane of motorways.

Stephen Hammond: Careless driving takes a number of different forms including misuse of the middle lane of motorways. Data collected by the police on the contributory factors to road accidents show that in 2011, 272 deaths had 'careless, reckless or in a hurry' recorded as a contributory factor. This may be an underestimate as there are other contributory factors (e.g. failing to look properly) that could be included as careless driving.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the environmental effect of increasing the speed limit on motorways to 80 mph.

Stephen Hammond: Work on the environmental impact has not been completed and we would consult on the potential impacts before any decision was taken as to whether to proceed with trials.
	At a time when Government has been clear about the need to manage a step change in investment for our road network, trials of 80 mph on the network are not a high priority.

Railways: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will hold discussions with Network Rail on restoring a direct rail link from Shropshire to London.

Patrick McLoughlin: I announced to the House 6 December 2012, Official Report, columns 1018-19, that I would welcome direct rail services to Blackpool and Shrewsbury from London. Virgin Trains has made an application to Network Rail seeking paths to run those services.
	Network Rail has assessed Virgins Trains' application for additional Track Access rights on the West Coast mainline and rejected the application for the additional services on the basis that it would be detrimental to performance.
	This matter is now being considered by the independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) which is responsible for Track Access applications.

Thameslink Railway Line

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress he has made in drawing up a management-style contract for the next Thameslink franchise.

Simon Burns: The management style contract for the next Thameslink franchise is currently being developed in close consultation with the pre-qualified bidders. The Invitation to Tender is due to be issued in September 2013.

Telephone Switchboard

Simon Hughes: To ask the hon. Member for Aberdeen North, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment he has made of the performance of the parliamentary telephone switchboard.

Frank Doran: The switchboard is an outsourced service. Capita are the current service provider. Formal monthly service reviews take place between the House and Capita.
	Capita has met its call handling target of answering 90% of calls in 10 seconds. The average answer time was 4.5 seconds. Since the relocation of the service to Southampton, some feedback has been received about misdirected calls and the speed with which requests for diverts are applied. The House is working with Capita to resolve these issues.

Social Enterprises

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his Department's suppliers are social enterprises.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA suppliers are not required to provide this information. DEFRA does have some data on which suppliers are: social enterprises, a charity or a voluntary sector organisation, this is too incomplete to provide a reliable response.

Big Society Network

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  when his Department first informed the Big Lottery Fund that the Big Society Network Foundation's Get In campaign had been put on hold and its funding had been ended; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 739W, on the Big Society Network, if he will publish the objectives of the Society Network Foundation's Get In campaign; and what progress had been made against each objective before his Department took the decision to end support for it; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: Cabinet Office did not inform Big Lottery Fund of its decision to end funding for the Society Network Foundation's Get In Campaign because it is not normal practice to inform external organisations of a decision made regarding a grant recipient
	The Cabinet Office has supplied a copy of the BSN and Sports Leader's UK quarter 1 monitoring report for the Get In campaign to the House of Common's Library; this sets out objectives for the Get In campaign and progress against these.

Landlords: Licensing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider making failure to meet the Housing Health and Safety Rating System a criterion for allowing selective licensing of landlords.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 24 June 2013
	The Housing Act 2004 permits local authorities, subject to carrying out a consultation, to license all private landlords in a designated area that is suffering from low housing demand and/or antisocial behaviour. The purpose of selective licensing is to address the adverse, cumulative impact that poor management by some landlords and/or antisocial behaviour by some tenants can have in the community. Selective licensing is only concerned with the management of privately rented dwellings, not the condition of the property.
	Notwithstanding, the 2004 Act also introduced the Housing Health and Safety Rating System which is designed to assess the presence and severity of a range of hazards in the home, such as excess cold, fire and electrical hazards. This allows action to be taken by councils against individual properties which are substandard or dangerous.

World War II: Genocide

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial support the Government has given to holocaust memorial groups in each year since 1997.

Don Foster: The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001 and has since been held on 27 January every year. Until 2005, responsibility for delivering Holocaust Memorial Day lay with the Home Office. Since 2005 Holocaust Memorial Day and related activities have been delivered by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, an independent charity set up by the Government to deliver the annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is the only Holocaust memorial group Government funds.
	The approximate spend for 2002-04 was £280,000. Financial support for the Holocaust Memorial Trust is detailed as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2005-06 500,000 
			 2006-07 500,000 
			 2007-08 500,000 
			 2008-09 500,000 
			 2009-10 750,000 
			 2010-11 750,000 
			 2011-12 750,000 
			 2012-13 750,000 
			 2013-14 904,000

Tax Allowances: Cultural Heritage

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many visitors visited tax exempt heritage assets in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  whether he records the number of visits by the public to each tax exempt heritage asset.

David Gauke: Information about visitor numbers to tax exempt heritage assets is not available.
	HMRC does not record the number of visits by the public to each tax exempt heritage asset.

Tax Allowances: Cultural Heritage

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the terms of the tax exempt heritage assets regime were last reviewed.

David Gauke: The Government keeps all tax policies, reliefs and exemptions under review. Major changes were made to the provisions in 1998 to extend public access. Since then minor changes have been made in 2006 and 2008.

Tax Allowances: Cultural Heritage

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the owners of tax exempt heritage assets are required to loan them to national or local galleries and museums.

David Gauke: There is no specific requirement for owners of tax exempt heritage assets to loan them to galleries and museums. However, depending on the nature of the asset and the terms of the undertakings they agree to, owners may choose to have them on display in galleries or museums to fulfil the public access requirement and meet the conditions to qualify for the tax exemption.

Tax Allowances: Cultural Heritage

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the tax exempt heritage assets as a contribution to public enjoyment of heritage assets.

David Gauke: The tax exemption scheme for heritage assets preserves and protects over 70,000 national heritage items and collections, which may have otherwise been sold or taken out of the UK, for the benefit of the public. It also ensures that the public have access to heritage assets in private ownership which they would otherwise not see.

Taxation: Business

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that large UK companies pay correct amounts of tax.

David Gauke: The Government is fully committed to supporting the international efforts to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) by multinational enterprises, through the OECD and G20.
	At the recent summit in Lough Erne, the G8 leaders welcomed the OECD work on addressing BEPS and emphasised the importance of the OECD developing an ambitious and comprehensive action plan for presentation to the G20 in July.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that health and wellbeing strategies addressing alcohol and drugs treatment are being developed by local authorities.

Norman Lamb: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 places a duty on local authorities and each of its partner clinical commissioning group to undertake Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), and prepare Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (JHWSs) through health and wellbeing boards.
	JSNAs and JHWSs are local strategic planning processes, we therefore do not monitor them centrally in the Department. JSNAs are the means by which the current and future health and well-being needs of the local population, will be determined through health and wellbeing boards. This will then be used to develop locally agreed priorities in JHWSs, which will underpin local commissioning plans. In this way, health and wellbeing boards will plan local services on the basis of identified needs. JSNAs will therefore need to cover the health and care needs of the whole local population and may well include drug and alcohol treatment. However, it would not be appropriate for the Department to highlight any care group or area of need over another as this would risk undermining the purpose of JSNAs and JHWSs being objective, comprehensive and most importantly—locally-owned processes of developing evidence based priorities for commissioning.

Ambulance Services: Corby

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the consequences of closing Corby ambulance station on the ability of the ambulance trust to meet the eight and 19 minute targets.

Anna Soubry: The East Midlands Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust consulted on the Being the Best proposals between September and December 2012.
	Lincolnshire county council referred those proposals to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), on 25 March 2013 who subsequently requested initial advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.
	That advice is due to be submitted to the Secretary of State no later than 28 June 2013.

Heart Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce deaths from heart disease; and if he will make funding available to Northern Ireland to improve cardiovascular outcomes.

Anna Soubry: Health is a devolved matter, and funding to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
	Reducing mortality and improving outcomes for people with heart disease and other CVDs in England is a key priority for this Government. The indicator 'Under 75 mortality fate from all cardiovascular diseases' is included in both the Public Health and NHS Outcome Frameworks and the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set. NHS England works to improve the quality of NHS services and is held to account through the Mandate.
	In March 2013 we published the ‘CVD Outcomes Strategy’. The strategy sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to improve outcomes in CVD.

Hospitals

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is made available to accommodate families that choose to stay beside an ill family member whilst in extended care in hospital.

Anna Soubry: The provision made to accommodate families that choose to stay beside an ill family member while in extended care in hospital is a matter for the providing health care organisation to determine.
	The Department publishes guidance on the design of hospitals in support of the regard national health service organisations have to have to the NHS Constitution's pledge of providing services from a:
	‘clean and safe environment that is fit for purpose, based on national best practice.'
	The design guidance for in-patient care recognises that 'relatives and visitors are encouraged to be more involved in patient care and support' (‘Health Building Note 04-01: Adult in-patient facilities, Department of Health, 2009’) and ‘Health Building Note 00-03: Clinical and clinical support spaces’ (Department of Health, 2013) gives spatial guidance on ‘receiving visitors’ at the bedside and ' space for a relative's overnight stay bed'.
	Guidance for the design of more specialised in-patient departments—such as children and young people and intensive care facilities—similarly addresses accommodating the needs of visitor and relatives.
	Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library and are available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-in-patient-facilities
	and;
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/design-and-layout-of-generic-clinical-and-clinical-support-spaces

Hospitals: Parking

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of NHS trusts who hold contracts with car parking management companies for hospital car parks.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Department.
	National health service organisations are responsible locally for decisions on the management of car parking, including whether it is provided in-house or outsourced.

Independent Midwives UK

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to address the concerns raised by representatives of Independent Midwives UK in their meeting with his Department in May 2013.

Anna Soubry: Independent Midwives UK (IM UK) met the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter), to discuss their concerns about implementation of the European Directive on Patients' Rights in Cross Border Healthcare which requires all. health professionals to have indemnity or insurance in order to practise. In particular they were concerned that it is difficult for independent midwives who are practising in a self-employed capacity to obtain appropriate cover.
	As part of the public consultation on this matter people were asked to identify barriers to obtaining insurance and officials are now analysing the responses to the consultation. Departmental officials and NHS England are meeting with IM UK in early July to discuss what commissioning arrangements could be used by IM UK members to support their practice. We are in continuing dialogue with IM UK to understand the barriers to their on-going practise with particular attention to alternative operating models to enable them to find the best solution.

Ketamine

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department had made of the number of ketamine-related hospital admissions in each of the last five years in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.

Anna Soubry: Data on ketamine-related hospital admissions is not collected centrally. This is because the International Classification of Diseases, used to collect data on hospital admissions, does not separately identify drug poisoning by ketamine.

NHS: Equality

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the provision of medical care is equal for those with physical and mental disabilities.

Norman Lamb: The Mandate to the national health service expects NHS England to ensure that mental health and physical health are given equal priority. By March 2015, we expect the NHS to demonstrate measurable progress towards achieving true parity of esteem, where everyone who needs it has timely access to evidence-based services.
	The NHS Outcomes Framework 2013-14 sets out the outcomes and corresponding indicators that will be used to hold NHS England to account for the outcomes it delivers through commissioning health services. Reducing premature death in people with serious mental illness and people with a learning disability are identified as improvement areas.
	The NHS Operating Framework for 2013-14 specifically talks about a focus on the physical health care of people affected by mental illness for the coming year and also that the NHS should ensure momentum is maintained in improving care and outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
	The Mandate to the NHS expects NHS England to ensure that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) work with local authorities to ensure that vulnerable people, particularly those with learning disabilities and autism, receive safe, appropriate, high quality care.
	The Equality Act 2010 requires NHS bodies, and those carrying out public functions on their behalf, to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people which may include providing more appropriate services. This statutory duty aims to ensure that a disabled person can use a service as close as reasonably possible to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people. NHS bodies must think in advance and on an on-going basis about what disabled people with a range of impairments that use their services might reasonably need.
	The Department is currently in discussions with its partners about publishing further guidance on making reasonable adjustments in health care settings.

Climate Change

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Government is taking to help negotiate a new international agreement on climate change by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Government is strongly committed to securing by 2015, an ambitious legally, binding global climate change agreement covering all countries, to come into force from 2020. In order to achieve this we will continue to work with our partners in the European Union, and across the world, through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other relevant multilateral fora.
	This year, we have already made good progress in recent negotiations in Bonn, where all countries held positive discussions about the nature of emissions reductions commitments for all and what other elements will form the scope, structure and design of the new agreement in 2015.These discussions will continue at the next Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Warsaw, in November this year.

Energy

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2013, Official Report, column 1246W, on energy, whether the threshold at which energy suppliers are required to participate in social and environmental programmes will be reviewed in 2013-14.

Michael Fallon: The Government continues to monitor the impact of the customer number threshold at which suppliers are required to participate in social and environmental programmes. We have no specific plans to change it, but continue to welcome all views and evidence.

Sizewell B Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what reports he has received from the Office for Nuclear Regulation on its special risk assessment of the pressure vessel of the Sizewell B pressurised water reactor conducted following the serious flaws found in two Belgian PWR pressure vessels at Doel 3 and Thiange 2.

Michael Fallon: In light of the discovery of defects at Doel 3 power station in Belgium, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) provided a brief, in August 2012, alerting the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to the situation and outlining that further investigation was needed.
	Subsequently, in April 2013, a full assessment report reviewing the manufacturing records and existing safety case at Sizewell B was published on the ONR website. ONR judge that the validity of the reactor pressure vessel safety case for Sizewell B is not affected by the recent observation of flaws at Doel 3 and Tihange 2 in Belgium.
	ONR's position on Sizewell B is given in the assessment report published on ONR's website.

Alternatives to Prosecution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many out-of-court disposals were recommended by the Crown Prosecution Service for offences of (a) child abuse, (b) crimes against an older person, (c) forced marriage, (d) homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, (e) honour crimes, (f) racist hate crime and (g) religious hate crime in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) each of the previous five years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records the number of cases referred for pre-charge advice and where a decision was made to either, issue a simple caution, conditional caution, reprimand or final warning.
	The CPS identifies cases involving the offences in question by way of a monitoring 'flag'. The figures in the following table show the decisions made at the pre-charge stage where a flag was applied. The data does not capture whether the decision to issue a caution or other out of court disposal was related to the flagged offence or allegation or other criminality evident on the file following a decision that there should be no further action in respect of the substantive offence. The case would remain flagged even after such a decision.
	
		
			 Child abuse flagged 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 378 11,542 
			 2008-09 320 11,094 
			 2009-10 294 12,688 
			 2010-11 332 13,018 
			 2011-12 231 11,613 
			 2012-13 190 9,381 
		
	
	
		
			 Crimes against an older person 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08(1) — — 
			 2008-09 25 1,494 
			 2009-10 28 2,194 
			 2010-11 30 2,978 
			 2011-12 34 2,989 
			 2012-13 18 2,839 
			 (1) Not recorded prior to 2008-09. 
		
	
	
		
			 Forced marriage 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 0 15 
			 2008-09 2 18 
			 2009-10 4 69 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 0 46 
			 2011-12 0 51 
			 2012-13 0 59 
		
	
	
		
			 Homophobic/Transphobic 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 49 1,219 
			 2008-09 42 1,090 
			 2009-10 41 1,373 
			 2010-11 31 1,384 
			 2011-12 26 1,368 
			 2012-13 16 1,107 
		
	
	
		
			 Honour crime 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 0 106 
			 2008-09 2 127 
			 2009-10 0 209 
			 2010-11 0 288 
			 2011-12 0 262 
			 2012-13 2 230 
		
	
	
		
			 Racist hate crime 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 311 11,215 
			 2008-09 258 10,730 
			 2009-10 283 11,484 
			 2010-11 241 11,949 
			 2011-12 207 11,499 
			 2012-13 164 10,052 
		
	
	
		
			 Religious hate crime 
			  Out of court disposals All pre charge decisions 
			 2007-08 12 281 
			 2008-09 8 351 
			 2009-10 6 316 
			 2010-11 3 411 
			 2011-12 5 419 
			 2012-13 3 297

Defence: Expenditure

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of gross domestic product he estimates will be spent on defence in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Philip Hammond: The UK will meet NATO's target of spending 2% of GDP on defence for the duration of this Parliament and, as announced at the spending round, in financial year 2015-16.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department has provided to the National Union of Students to implement the Prevent strategy.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The National Union of Students received funding of £115,000 in 2012-13 and will receive £160,000 in 2013-14 to take a clear leadership role in delivering its responsibilities of supporting students' unions to:
	Understand the risks posed by some external speakers and how to mitigate against these risks;
	Understand their responsibilities in relation to the Prevent agenda and charities legislation;
	Respond to tensions between different student faith groups;
	Support student faith groups to negotiate for improved services and gain acknowledgement from their institutions of their specific needs (particularly in relation to changing equality legislation); and
	Increase interaction, understanding and learning amongst students and staff about the role of religion and belief in students' lives.
	This includes work to continue to roll out the Hate Speech Guidance (increase their capacity to manage the risks associated with external speakers) and develop the work that supports this including working to reduce discrimination and harassment; sharing best practice; and increasing knowledge and understanding of the needs of students of faith, as well as increasing inter faith engagement.

Class Sizes

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many five to seven year olds were in classes of more than 30 pupils in January (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: Information on infant class sizes (typically covering pupils who become five to seven during the academic year) was published in table 6a of the publication “Schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2013”(1).
	The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per school teacher. Additional children may be admitted in exceptional circumstances—for example, looked after children or children of UK service personnel. Classes often fall back naturally to 30 over a year or two. We are spending £5 billion by 2015 on creating new school places, more than double the amount spent by the last government in an equivalent time frame. This will help reduce the pressure on infant classes.
	We have also opened 81 free schools and approved some 200 more—providing 130,000 extra places in total once full.
	(1) Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013

Education

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that pupils understand the reforms to the education system that are currently underway.

Elizabeth Truss: It is important that pupils understand the reforms this Government is undertaking to improve the education system. We know that children and young people are most likely to access information about their education from teachers and parents, with whom we communicate regularly.
	When appropriate we directly engage young people on our reforms—for example we recently produced a children's version of the Children and Families Bill. We also specifically consulted with young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities on the SEN provisions of the Bill.

Educational Visits

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of paperwork teachers have to complete when taking pupils on educational visits.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department is committed to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy that can deter schools from taking pupils on valuable visits. We have simplified the Department's health and safety guidance, reducing it from 150 pages to eight pages. It sets out clearly what schools and local authorities must do in law, and encourages both to take a common sense approach to ensuring compliance.
	The Department has produced a 'one-off' parental consent form, which covers all activities outside the normal school day. The form will only need to be signed once, when a child enrols at the school. Schools will then only need to inform parents in advance of each activity and give them the opportunity to withdraw their child from the activity if they wish, rather than conducting bureaucratic form-filling exercises for every school trips. This will reduce bureaucracy for both parents and teachers.

Foster Care

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent consideration he has given to raising the age in which young people can choose to leave foster care from 18 to 21.

Edward Timpson: In October 2012, I wrote to all directors of children's services about the importance of supporting care leavers and I urged local authorities to ensure that care leavers are always living in safe, suitable accommodation. The Government's Staying Put policy encourages young people to remain with their former foster carers beyond the age of 18 and allows them to experience a transition from care to independence and adulthood based on need and not age alone.
	The Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers Regulations and Guidance 2010 and the Fostering Regulations and Guidance 2011 (Children Act 1989) now require local authorities to have such a policy, and many already extend foster care placements beyond the child's 18th birthday.
	The Department for Education has also worked alongside the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC to align and simplify tax rules for Staying Put arrangements to make implementing the policy even easier.
	An amendment to the Children and Families Bill was proposed on extending 'staying put' arrangements. In the debate on 11 June on this amendment I explained that if no progress is being made in widening this provision I will consider if legislation is required in the future.

Free Schools: Admissions

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of the places created under the free schools programme in the current school year will be primary places;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of school places created under the free schools programme created in areas where there is need for new places by 2015;
	(3)  what proportion of primary school places created under the free schools programme to date have been created in areas with a shortage of primary places;
	(4)  what proportion of places in schools created under the free schools programme to date are primary school places;
	(5)  what proportion of places created by the new free schools announced in May 2013 will be primary places.

Edward Timpson: Around 130,000 additional pupil places will be created in total by free schools which are open and in the pipeline.
	Approximately 50% of places in open free schools are primary places (this includes primary places in all-through schools). Approximately 89% of open primary free school places are in areas with a shortage of primary places. It is estimated that approximately 64% of places in open free schools are in areas where there is a need for new places by 2015.
	Including all-through schools, 42 out of 78 mainstream free schools approved in May 2013 will cater for primary-aged pupils. 72% of all free school approvals and 91% of primary, approvals will go towards meeting basic need. 90% of mainstream free schools approved in May 2013 are in areas of basic need or deprivation. The Government does not have a target for the number of primary places to be provided by the free schools programme.
	The Government is addressing the shortage of places left by the last Government through basic need funding—we are spending £5 billion on creating new places over the current spending review period, more than double the amount spent by the previous Government in an equivalent timeframe. By September 2013, we expect 190,000 additional places will have been created, with many more to come.

Schools: Standards

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) failed and (b) underperforming (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools there were in each of the last 30 years.

Elizabeth Truss: We have interpreted 'failed' schools to mean schools judged as 'inadequate' by Ofsted. Data from 2005 onwards have been placed in the House Library; no comparable data is available for inspections undertaken before September 2005. To compile this information would incur disproportionate cost. There has been no consistent trend in the number or proportion of schools judged as 'inadequate' between 2005/06 and 2011/12. Many factors can influence the spread of inspection grades, including modifications to successive frameworks, some of which raised expectations, and moving to more risk based inspection, with weaker schools inspected more frequently than other schools.
	We have interpreted 'underperforming' to mean those schools that failed to meet the national floor targets. The first school-level floor targets used to identify underperforming schools were introduced in 2002 for key stage 2 and key stage 4. Prior to this, targets were set at local education authority and national level. Data from 2000 onwards on the number of schools failing to meet each year's targets have been placed in the House Library. With rising attainment, the criteria for being "above the floor" has increased over the period—the number of schools below the floor has decreased both absolutely and relatively between 2000 and 2012. In 2012, at key stage 4 the toughest threshold to date was introduced, leading to an increase in the number of schools below the floor between 2011 and 2012.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how much funding his Department will make available to support the participation of children and young people in the 2014 reporting round to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child;
	(2)  with reference to Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, what steps he plans to take to ensure that children and young people's opinions are represented in the Government's report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;
	(3)  with reference to Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, what steps he plans to take to ensure that children and young people are represented in the 2014 reporting process of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Edward Timpson: The Government is due to submit a report on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the United Kingdom to the United Nations in January 2014. Preparation of the report is under way and will continue over the coming months. I expect the report to include details of various consultations that have taken place with children and young people on a wide range of policy proposals and issues. Some were organised for us by the British Youth Council, to which the Department has allocated £666,000 for 2013-15 in support of youth voice. Other consultations were conducted by or on behalf of individual Government Departments. We do not have a record of their costs.
	I would expect children and young people to be involved in the later stages of the reporting process to the UN. We will consider the practical and funding implications of this when we know the UN's timetable.

Apprentices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial support his Department makes available for small businesses to take on apprentices.

Michael Fallon: In addition to wider efforts to create more apprenticeship opportunities, the Government has introduced the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE 16-24). This provides grants to support smaller employers taking on young apprentices aged 16-24. Grants of £1,500 per apprentice are available. The grant is available to employers with up to 1,000 employees who have not taken on an apprentice in the previous 12 months, and an employer can claim grants to support up to 10 new apprentices. The availability of this grant has been extended until 31 December 2013.

Flexible Working: Carers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he (a) has and (b) plans to put in place to improve awareness of the right to request flexible working amongst (i) employers and (ii) employees with caring responsibilities for older or disabled relatives; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: This Department has been working with a number of external partners to highlight the benefits of flexible working to both employees and employers. An example of this is our involvement with the Department for Work and Pension's Private Sector Working Group on flexible working, chaired by Working Families, which has been raising awareness of the right to request flexible working. Their newly created strap line 'Happy to talk Flexible Working' encourages employers to advertise vacancies that operate flexibly and also encourages prospective employee's to discuss their flexible working needs with the employer at interview.
	This Department has also been working with Carers UK and Employers for Carers to highlight the benefits of flexible working to carers, and we welcome the work undertaken by groups such as the Agile Future Forum (a group of leading businesses) which highlights the opportunities and benefits that flexible working practices bring to employers.
	This Department will continue to work with all the relevant representative bodies to ensure that the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees is publicised when it comes into force in 2014.

Greenwich University

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether Greenwich university was one of the 40 universities contacted by his Department in 2009 under the auspices of the Prevent strategy; and whether his Department received evidence that Greenwich university had conducted an assessment of the risk of radicalisation on its campus.

David Willetts: Greenwich university have, like most institutions, worked closely with their police Prevent engagement officer over recent years to look at the risks on their campus. The institution is now working with BIS's London Prevent co-ordinator.
	We do not publish the list of 40 universities that were contacted in 2009. This information is exempt from publication.

Manufacturing Industries: Sports

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department offers British-based sports manufacturers to export their products.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides trade advice and practical support to UK-based companies wishing to export their products. Advice is provided through a network of professional advisers within the UK and across more than 100 international markets. Support ranges from participation at selected trade fairs, inward and outward missions through to providing bespoke market intelligence.
	Gateway to Global Growth:
	Is a service for experienced exporters which offers a 12 month programme of strategic support tailored to each company's requirements.
	The Export Marketing Research Scheme (EMRS):
	Provides independent advice on carrying out marketing research; in addition companies may be eligible for a grant of up to 50% of the cost of conducting that market research.
	The Export Communications Review (ECR):
	Provides companies with impartial and objective advice on language and cultural issues.
	The Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS):
	Is a chargeable business tool allowing UK companies to use the services of UKTI's trade teams overseas for bespoke services.
	UKTI's Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP):
	Provides grant support for eligible SME firms to attend trade shows overseas.
	UK companies can register on the UKTI website:
	www.ukti.gov.uk
	to access information and to receive details of specific business opportunities.
	Sports manufacturers can apply for support for any of the above services in the same way as any other UK based company.
	In the current year's TAP programme UKTI is supporting organised groups of UK businesses at over 17 specialist and general sports trade shows.

Misuse of Drugs Ministerial Group

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times Ministers of his Department have attended the inter-ministerial group on drugs since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: Ministers from this Department have attended the Inter-Ministerial Group on drugs on eight occasions since May 2010.

Prisoners on Remand

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women were remanded in custody in each month of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The following tables show the number of male and female prisoners received into prison on remand in England and Wales each month in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
	The figures provided are a further breakdown of those published in Table 1.2 of the 'Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin' available on the GOV.UK website.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Remand receptions into prison establishments(1) by type of remand and by sex 2010-12 
			 Untried receptions, by month 2010-12, England and Wales 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			  Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 January 3,819 322 4,054 354 3,922 342 
			 February 3,786 359 3,824 359 3,965 366 
			 March 4,417 399 4,213 402 4,121 315 
			 April 4,161 384 3,859 327 3,767 305 
			 May 4,361 409 4,323 368 3,970 292 
			 June 4,250 364 4,189 316 3,651 315 
			 July 4,376 367 4,206 346 4,113 373 
			 August 3,998 358 5,326 451 4,097 345 
		
	
	
		
			 September 3,975 374 4,352 360 3,775 337 
			 October 3,904 373 4,169 345 4,044 316 
			 November 4,172 377 4,203 312 3,719 328 
			 December 3,534 300 3,859 320 3,207 242 
			 All 48,753 4,386 50,577 4,260 46,351 3,876 
		
	
	
		
			 Convicted unsentenced receptions, 2010-12, England and Wales 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			  Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 January 2,506 193 2,773 217 2,866 181 
			 February 2,766 222 2,654 238 2,729 208 
			 March 2,931 243 3,035 249 3,076 210 
			 April 2,661 204 2,646 199 2,669 161 
			 May 3,042 253 2,993 255 3,060 199 
			 June 3,196 245 3,255 214 2,776 163 
			 July 3,254 235 3,047 234 3,074 221 
			 August 2,845 201 3,267 263 2,933 180 
			 September 3,240 250 3,335 269 2,798 199 
			 October 3,137 226 3,213 254 3,108 206 
			 November 3,315 257 3,363 244 2,878 225 
			 December 2,659 216 2,951 223 2,364 162 
			 All 35,552 2,745 36,532 2,859 3,431 2,315 
			 (1) Excludes police cells. Note: Untried and convicted unsentenced receptions cannot be combined to give total remand receptions as some individuals are counted under both types of remand reception.

Prisoners: Public Consultation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners responded to public consultations run by his Department in the last year.

Jeremy Wright: Central data is not available to confirm how many prisoners responded to public consultations run by the Ministry of Justice in the last year. This information could be obtained only by a manual check with individual policy holders, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Speech and Language Disorders

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of prisoners who have speech and language difficulties;
	(2)  how many speech and language therapists currently work within (a) prisons and (b) young offender institutes.

Jeremy Wright: Central data is not available on the number of offenders in custody with speech and language difficulties or on the number of speech and language therapists currently working in prisons. The information could be collected only by a manual check of local records and this would incur disproportionate cost.
	All newly received prisoners who wish to undertake education or training while in custody in England have a detailed assessment by the learning provider of their needs, and needs can also be identified through routine screening. This is a contractual obligation on the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS 4) service providers. In all public sector prisons, learning and skills in prisons is funded by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, provided by learning and skills providers, and co-commissioned between the Skills Funding Agency and NOMS. In Wales, learning and skills in prison is delivered by HMPS staff.
	The assessment will identify any additional learning support needs, and the learning provider has access to a dedicated budget to deliver that additional support. Where other needs are identified (for example a learning disability which might require additional detailed assessment), the learning provider will refer appropriately. Examples might include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health support.
	Additional support against assessed need will be delivered through personalised programmes, and through the use of specialist staff, adaptations and resources where appropriate. This support is expected to last throughout the length of the programme and should be continuously reviewed.
	Prison health services may identify prisoners with speech and language difficulties. Annually refreshed prison health needs assessments are commissioned locally for each prison by NHS England, working with Public Health England, may identify these needs at the population level. Routine health screens and health appointments will identify prisoners requiring support.
	Health and education in Wales are devolved matters for the Welsh Government. Processes to identify and meet the health needs of prisoners in Wales are broadly similar to those described above and are in general the responsibility of local health boards and NHS Wales.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking with the devolved Assemblies to reduce the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants.

Mark Hoban: Jobcentre Plus works closely with the devolved Administrations in Wales and Scotland to enable unemployed people access the right support they need to get a job and stay in work. Our policies build effective local partnerships to ensure the right support is in place to meet the needs of employers and those looking for work. At a more strategic level there are regular meetings between DWP, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to work together to share best practice on helping jobseekers find employment.

Jobseeker’s Allowance: Dunbartonshire

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals against jobseeker's allowance sanctions have been successful in West Dunbartonshire constituency since September 2012.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many appeals against Jobseeker's Allowance sanctions have been successful in West Dunbartonshire constituency from 1 April 2000 to 21 October 2012 (the last date of the old regulations) can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203439/tab-tool-guidance.pdf
	Statistics on jobseeker's allowance sanctions from 22 October 2012 are not yet available.

New Enterprise Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to provide support for unemployed people seeking self employment after referrals to the current new enterprise allowance scheme ends in September; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: We are currently developing the policy for self-employment provision after September. More information on this will be available in due course.

Occupational Pensions

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on communicating to the public the introduction of the Government's workplace pension scheme.

Steve Webb: To date, we have spent £7,840,308.24 on communications to individuals, and £1,479,380.25 on communications to employers.
	Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension is a major government reform programme. It is a legal requirement and will see 1.3 million employers enrolling up to 10 million eligible workers into a pension scheme.
	Our communications campaign aims to raise awareness and understanding of workplace pensions, and ultimately encourage more people to stay enrolled. The campaign is supported by a programme of low cost/no cost activities.
	Since the launch of the campaign in September 2012, our tracking shows that the campaign has reached over 87% of all adults who watch commercial TV, and the radio advert has reached 67% of the population, who heard it 10 times on average during the launch burst in September/October 2012.
	Following the initial burst of campaign activity, awareness of the change in the law had risen to 71% of working age adults, up from 33% prior to the start of the campaign.

Unemployment: West Midlands

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures other than the Work Programme are in place to tackle unemployment in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Mark Hoban: Jobcentre Plus personal advisers offer a comprehensive menu of help including support with jobs search, work experience, skills provision, volunteering, and help to set up their own businesses.
	The Youth Contract provides wage incentives for employers who want to recruit an unemployed young person, from Jobcentre Plus or the Work Programme, and financial incentives to take on young apprentices.
	Where Jobcentre Plus advisers feel that a person would benefit from a short period of activity, they can refer them to a Mandatory Work Activity placement that lasts for four weeks focused on delivering benefit to the local community.
	In-work support for 18 to 24-year-olds is offered in Birmingham. This is designed to support those starting work who may have difficulties holding down a position for the first 26 weeks. Support includes a dedicated Aftercare Adviser, access to an In-Work Mentoring Service and Money Management and Debt Counselling.

Afghanistan

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to engage with Central Asian states on transition in Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: We have taken active steps to engage with Central Asian states on transition in Afghanistan to help secure long-term stability and security for the region. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi discussed Afghanistan during her recent visits to Kazakhstan in April 2013, and to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in June 2013. She also represented the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) at the Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process in Almaty, Kazakhstan in April 2013. This conference discussed regional stability and security, with a focus on Afghanistan. My noble and right hon. Friend met with her Central Asian counterparts in the margins of this conference to discuss Afghanistan. Our Central Asian embassies actively engage their hosts on transition in Afghanistan, reaffirming the UK's long-term commitment beyond 2014. In addition, we are working with Central Asian governments on a number of initiatives funded by the tri-departmental Conflict Pool to help them deal with security challenges and we continue to monitor progress.

Iran

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions against Iranian oil and gas companies.

Alistair Burt: The EU has taken significant steps to prevent Iran using its energy revenues to fund its nuclear programme. This includes a ban on the import of Iranian oil and gas, and designation of Iran's key energy companies and their subsidiaries, as well as energy ministries. As a result of EU and other international sanctions, Iranian oil revenues have been cut by more than half from 2011 levels, and access to those revenues is highly constrained. Sanctions have played an important part in bringing Iran to the negotiating table.

Iran

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the president-elect of Iran on future relations and the possibility of mutual re-opening of full diplomatic facilities; and if he will make a statement on relations with that country.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has not had any discussions with President-Elect Rouhani.
	On the question of UK-Iran relations, and the possibility of re-opening embassies, I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Secretary of State gave to the House on 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 626.